“We’re spending £400 a month having our Facebook page managed; could you take a look and see if we’re doing the right thing?”
I received this email from an estate agent in Stoke, and I couldn’t wait to dive into her Facebook page. What I found made me do a double-take—she had only 93 likes. That’s about £1 per fan each week! I had to tell her, “That’s just not right.”
Naturally, she wanted to know what she should do instead. My first piece of advice? Ditch the agency managing her social media and take the reins herself.
Now, I know this isn’t the most popular suggestion. After all, we’re busy estate agents with properties to list and sell. Who has time for social media?
But hold on a second.
You don’t have time to create a message that can reach hundreds of people in seconds, is easy for them to respond to, and is completely free? Yet, you find time for leaflet campaigns, newspaper ads, and even sponsoring the local football team?
Let’s rethink this.
It’s time to reassess how we approach social media. Many of you are doing it wrong, but it’s not entirely your fault. You’ve been given misguided advice about what to post on your Facebook page, how to use LinkedIn, the best strategies for Instagram, and what to tweet about.
In this post, I’m going to take you back to basics. We’ll discuss which platforms you should focus on, what content to share, and how to make your social media efforts translate into phone calls—just like we do at AshdownJones. If it works for us, it can work for you too.
Understanding the Social Media Landscape for Estate Agents
The Disconnect Between Social Media Gurus and Our Industry
Social media experts often miss the mark when it comes to the estate agency sector. Their pages and profiles can be lackluster, and they frequently fail to understand that we’re trying to engage with vendors and landlords, not just buyers and tenants.
Moreover, social media agencies can only work with the content you provide. If you’re only sharing links to House Beautiful or the Rightmove blog, your page will be boring and irrelevant to your brand.
Making Social Media Colourful, Creative, and Compelling
Creating engaging content can be a challenge, but it’s a challenge worth tackling. Just last week, I received two market appraisal requests via Facebook—one from a complete stranger and another from someone I hadn’t spoken to in years. The
combined fees from those requests? A staggering £15,225. That’s enough to cover a full-time marketing assistant for an entire year!
We focus on making our chosen platforms engaging and interesting, and as a result, we consistently attract fantastic new clients and valuable referrals.
Choosing the Right Platforms
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Be Selective with Your Social Media
Instead of trying to be everywhere at once, be strategic about your platform choices. Focus on the ones where you feel comfortable and that will have the most significant impact.
Currently, we primarily use Facebook and Instagram, and I also utilise LinkedIn. Our LinkedIn Business Page hasn’t been fully exploited yet, and our Twitter account is underused. Both are on our growth list for this year.
I haven’t included blogging here, as it’s a different subject altogether. Once you create your content, use your chosen platforms as a distribution network to amplify your reach.
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What Not to Do on Social Media
Regardless of the platform, here are some golden rules for what to avoid:
- Posting Properties: You’re not Rightmove. This approach will alienate potential vendors.
- Link-Spamming: No one cares about the latest link from House Beautiful.
- Hiding Behind Your Brand: People want to engage with real individuals, not logos.
- Selling on Social: This isn’t the place for hard sales pitches.
- Getting Political: Avoid controversial opinions that could alienate your audience.
- Complaining: Nobody likes a whinger.
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What to Do on Social Media
Instead, focus on these strategies:
- Share Interesting Content: Provide value that people actually want to read.
- Be Authentic: Remember, this is a people business, not just a property business.
- Vary Your Posts: Use images, videos, competitions, and informative content to keep things fresh.
- Be Helpful: Ensure your posts offer something beneficial to your audience.
- Stay Positive: A cheerful demeanor is more likely to engage your audience.
The Five-Step Formula for Social Media Success
After much trial and error, I’ve developed a Five-Step Formula that works across all platforms:
- A Day in the Life: Share snippets of your day, showcasing you and your team outside of the estate agent role.
- Behind the Scenes: This is crucial! People love seeing the inner workings of an estate agency.
- Sneak Peeks: Build anticipation by sharing upcoming properties before they hit the market.
- Tips and Advice: From quick home hacks to in-depth Q&A videos, your audience will appreciate your expertise.
- Local Connections: Engage with local businesses and support them; it will pay off in the long run.
Your Next Steps
Now that you have this knowledge, you have three choices:
- Ignore This Advice: You might think you’re doing fine, but are you really? Who’s worried about Purplebricks anyway?
- DIY Approach: Try to figure out how to create a social media marketing funnel on your own. Just be careful not to waste time and money.
- The Smart Choice: Let us handle your social media marketing funnel. Here’s why:
- You don’t have the time to create your own content; you should be focused on listing and selling houses.
- You likely lack the expertise unless you’ve spent years studying this like we have.
- Once we set up your funnel, it’s evergreen—it won’t go out of date because we’ve designed it that way. It’s an investment in your marketing future.
- Your current marketing agency may not understand the nuances of our industry like we do.
- Why reinvent the wheel? We’ve already done the hard work and are ready to share our proven strategies with you.
In conclusion, mastering social media is not just a luxury; it’s a necessity for forward-thinking estate agents. By embracing these strategies, you can transform your social media presence into a powerful tool that drives engagement, generates leads, and ultimately helps you close more deals. So, are you ready to take the plunge and elevate your social media game?
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When you’re ready, here are 3 ways we can help you:
1. Reach out for a call with Sam – choose from three different calls to help you overcome your specific challenges. All free and without strings. Grab a coffee and let’s get to work.
2. Come and spend the day with Sam and Phil, at AshdownJones’ HQ, in our beautiful Lake District. Meet the team, check out our systems and marketing, and enjoy meeting like-minded (non-competing) agency owners. We’ll even put on lunch! Book your place here.
3. Join our Facebook community of super-ambitious independent agents.
Hope to catch up with you soon and find out how you’re growing your business!
Till then,
Sam and Phil
